A Chieftain of the Peoples Democratic Party in Edo State, Martins Osakue, has expressed the need for Governor Godwin Obaseki to bury the thought of choosing a successor for himself ahead of the 2024 governorship election in the state.
Osakue who made this known while speaking during an interview with Vanguard in Benin City, maintained that Obaseki must consult with leaders of the party to choose an acceptable person.
According to the Edo-born businessman who insisted that the successor must be “a homeboy,” the issue of zoning that seems to be taking the front seat in the state political space has never been part of the PDP, saying that the leaders of the party would zero in on a competent person from the aspirants and mobilise for such a person.
The PDP chieftain further insisted that it was time to end the diaspora governor in the state.
“We are seeing a kind of ‘diasporan’ politician coming to govern Edo. This should not continue, that is our point. Even when the governor has an interest in who succeeds him, he should not be the sole determinant, and who succeeds the governor is dependent on the person they are bringing.
“If you look at the history of PDP, we have never really zoned governorship, it has always been open. When all of them (aspirants) appear, it is the leaders that will quietly pick among them. When you start the process and say it must be this zone or that zone, then you have started creating problems from the beginning. Right from the UPN and NPN time, we have never really zoned.”
He added: “This idea of creating emperor governors has been the greatest undoing of the 1999 constitution. The constitution didn’t provide for it but gradually we started seeing governors having more powers than the President.
“It should not continue. Mark my words. It is not that a governor should not have a say in who succeeds him but he should not be the determinant.
“He should not be the one to say it must be this person. The person you choose will determine the support you have. If, for instance, we chose a world banker as governor in the last eight years and he has transformed Edo State, the first thing people will suggest is that let’s go for another international consultant. Esan will get special attention if they bring any good person from there.”
Also speaking on the rumour that the governor already has a technocrat in mind, in the person of Asue Ighodalo as his successor, Osakue who also runs one of the thriving private schools in the state, said: “I don’t know him. We don’t know him. I have played politics here for more than 40 years since 1978. I was in the UPN (Unity Party of Nigeria). I was a founding member of PDP. It is when you know people that you know their pedigree. I look at this man, what has he done for my constituency which is education?
“What has he done for Education? How many people is he training? What free Education programme does he have? What has he done for his community? There are people in Edo Central you can present to us. That is what leadership does.
“They called me. I told them that they were cooking bad soup. I didn’t mince words. That soup is already rotten. That project is dead on arrival.
“Morally, it is even wrong for governors to determine their successors. Why? It blocks a major ingredient of democracy – accountability and transparency. Why are you picking this person?
“Look at the difference with Comrade Adams Oshiomhole, because he goes to his place, Iyamho regularly, he could not afford to allow the Benin -Auchi road to be in a state of disrepair. That was the advantage we got from a local person.”
While briefing on the kind of governor Edo deserves
next, Osakue said: “Experience has taught the PDP leadership that being a technocrat or international consultant is not a prerequisite for governance or leadership.
“What we need is what I have called a ‘plutocrat’. He is somebody who has experience in politics, who is home to the culture of the people and who has experience in human and economic resources management. That’s a ‘plutocrat. Somebody has called the person a homeboy.
“Our next governor will be a homeboy. The person who will be governor will combine the qualities of Samuel Ogbemudia and Ambrose Alli.
“How do you do this? You will take the visionary, developmental approach of Ogbemudia. His developmental vision, his tenacity, and his selfless distribution of amenities and projects across the state. That was what Ogbemudia was known for.
“Then you come to the UPN, Governor Ambrose Alli. You take his selflessness, his humaneness, his compassion and empathy.
“These two qualities- compassion and selflessness, are needed. The combination of these two has been absent for a while now. We need the sagacity of an Ogbemudia.
“When we are looking for a governor we are looking for somebody who grew up among us; who knows the value of Edo State as a transportation hub in the country; who knows the value of Edo State is a link between the West, the East and the North; a governor who is compassionate and empathetic enough to make sure that Benin – Auchi Road is never bad; a governor who will make sure that whether it is federal or state the people who live here are the voters; that your priority is the welfare of these voters.
“We have one father, that is the Oba of Benin. A governor who will see the Oba of Benin, without being prompted, goes on his knees whether it is at the airport in London or anywhere. That’s the governor. It’s not subservience. A man who does not recognize the dictates of his culture is not a man because you’re a product of your culture.”
Speaking on the crisis within the Edo PDP, the party chieftain said that there is only one PDP in the state, saying, “You can call it the authentic PDP or the Legacy PDP led by Chief Dan Orbih.
“The chairman of the party has kind of abdicated. He left his position. He watched while his house was being destroyed. We’re rebuilding. As far as the party is concerned, the process of rebuilding is in top gear. We are prepared for 2024.
“Everybody knows that the governor in 2024 will come from those you have identified as Legacy PDP who I will call the original PDP.
“We will produce the governor. As to what kind of governor we will have, it will be determined by the experience that we have had in the last 18 years.
“Let me say without equivocation that we know those who should not be governor, who cannot be governor and who ought not to aspire to be governor.”